Paul schulze



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL SCHULZE, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND FREDERICKW. BILLING, OF SAME PLACE.

PROCESS OF OBTAINING PRINTING-SURFACES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 37,078, dated December2, 1862.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL SonULzE, of the city of Brooklyn, in the countyof Kings and State of New York, have invented a new Process of ObtainingPrinting-Surfaces, also applicable to the production of substitutes forphotographic negatives, and which I term Schulzes Process and I dohereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same.

The objects of this invention are, first, to procure a cheap substitutefor wood-engraving from which to obtain by the electrotype pro cesssurfaces which can be printed from in the same manner as electrotypesobtained from wood-engravings; second, to enable the process of etchingmetal surfaces to be performed more easily than by the mode heretoforepracticed third, to obtain an easy mode of making dies for seals or forstamps of a similar character; fourth, to obtain by drawing, without theaid of a camera or the agency of light, substitutes for photographicnegatives which may be printed from in the same manner as thosenegatives by the action of light acting through them upon sensitivepaper.

The principal feature of the invention consists in first making adrawing in ink which is soluble in water upon the surface of a plate ofglass or any other hard substance which has been previously coated withan alcoholic solution of shellac, then covering the whole surface with acoating of beeswax or of a composition of beeswax, asphaltum, andlinseed-oil or other menstruum,nextimmersing the plate in water for sometime, and afterward exposing its face to the action of a stream ofwater, by which the latter coating is washed off only from the lines ofthe drawing, and the whole of the drawing itself is washed away, leavingthe latter coatin g between and among thelines of the drawing. The platein this condition can be used in the same manner as a wood-engraving toobtain an electrotype for printing, and with very little subsequentpreparation for the other purpose hereinabove specified, as will bepresently described.

I will first describe particularly the manner in which the process isperformed to obtain the substitute for wood-engraving.

When the plate is of glass or other hard substance the surface tobedrawn upon should be made even and have a line grain given to it bygrinding with line sand, rotten-stone, or other suitable material. Thefirst coating or ground of shellac solution may be applied either bypouring it over the surface or by rubbing it on with a piece of cloth,and when it is dry it is ready for the drawing. The ink with which thedrawing is made may be composed of a solution of gum-arabic in water,with a enough sugar to prevent it from cracking off or separating fromthe plate when dry, and a suitable quantity of ivory-black, lampblack,or other coloring'ma-tter to make the drawing appear; or it may becomposed of a weak glue-water, with any coloring-matter, or of anycolored pasty substance soluble in water. The drawing may be made with apen, brush, or pencil dipped in such ink. When the drawing has beencompleted the second coating can be applied. I prefer to use for thiscoating a composition of four (4) parts, by weight, of beeswax to one(1) part of asphaltum and one (1) part rosin with as much thinvarnishsuch as is used by printers for thinning their ink-or linseed-oilas will render the composition applicable with alithographicinking-roller or engravers daub. The same end can be obtained with acoating of bees-' wax softened with spirits of turpentine, but with lesssharp and clear lines. The necessary thickness of the coating willdepend upon the character of the drawing, a thinner coating beingsufficient for close, fine work. After the application of this coatingthe plate is to be immersed in water. If the coating is thin. fifteenminutes immersion will be sufficient; but a proportionately longer timewill be necessary for a thicker coating. When the plate is removed fromthe water bath a stream of water is 'directed upon its face, and by thatmeans the last coating is removed from the lines of the drawing and theink of the draw ing all washed out, leaving the said coating perfectbetween the lines of and aroundthe drawing.

In most cases the coating will remain sufficiently high to enable a goodelectrotype for printing to be taken from it; but where a higher groundis needed it can be produced by dusting lycopodinm on the surface with asoft brush. Where the composition remains on the plate the lycopodiumwill unite with it, and by applying more of the composition over thesurface with an inking-roller the lycopodium will be removed from thelines of the drawing and the surface of the coating of composition willbe further raised. Broad spaces between the lines where a higher groundis necessary can be raised by applying beeswax in the same manner aselectrotypers now apply it to the surfaces of wood-engravings or byapplying asphaltum with a brush. Before the plate is put into the handsof the electrotyper a thin coat of alcoholic varnish is poured onto it,that the varnish or linseed-oil in the ground may not prevent thedeposit of the copper, and this coat of varnish will insure the plumbagoapplied by the electrotyper being received and retained on every portionof the surface of the plate. In this way a substitute forwood-engravings is obtained in a very short time at a small cost.

Instead of the drawing being made upon a plate, it may be made uponpaper which has been first thoroughly saturated with alcoholic varnishor any other substancesuch as waxthat will make it perfectlywater-proof, and after the drawinghas been made the back of the papershould be cemented to the surface of a perfectly flat plate with beeswaxor some other water-proof cement, and afterward treated in the samemanner as before described with reference to the drawing on the glass orother hard plate.

For metal etching the drawing is made with the soluble ink in the mannerhereinabove described on the surface of the metal, and after it has beencompleted the whole surface of the plate is coated either with theetching ground commonly used by engravers or with a ground of beeswaxapplied-while the plate is warm, instead of with the second coatingwhich is applied to obtain the substitute for wood-engraving, ashereinbefore described. The plate is then immersed in water andafterward exposed to the action of a stream of water directed upon itsface to wash out the drawing, as

hereinbefore explained, and the plateis ready' to receive the acid foretching.

For making dies for seals or stamps of similar character, a drawing ismade as at first described,-and subjected to the same treatment up tothe filling in of the broad spaces between the lines with beeswax orasphaltum, when it can be used as the mold from which to obtain a sealby the electrotype process, or from which to obtain a die in which toproduce a seal by casting.

To obtain a substitute for photographic negatives, a drawing is made inthe manner hereinbefore described on a plate of finely-ground glass, andafter it has been made, instead of being coated with the beeswax orcomposition of beeswax, asphaltum, and rosin hereinbefore specified, ithas applied a thin coating of that composition with which some finelampblack has been mixed, and then subjected to the soaking and washingoperations to remove the ink, and when it has dried itis dusted overwith lamp-black by means of a fine brush to make the ground still lesstransparent, after which the whole surface has applied to it a coat ofalcoholic varnish. When this varnish is dry the plate is used forprinting upon properly-prepared paper in the same manner as aphotographic negative obtained by the camera.

The drawings for etchings, seals, and photographic purposes have to bereversed; but for the first-described purpose they should not bereversed.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

The within-described process of drawing in soluble ink and treating suchdrawing for the several purposes herein specified.

PAUL SOHULZE.

Witnesses:

TIMOTHY SHINE, M. S. PARTRIDGE.

